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Desperately needed help with lost charger for Bluetti 150

Those resin-potted heatsink style step-up convertors are available with several different specs, so you should be abke to find one that will suit your AC50S input requirements, if that's some thing you want to pursue.
 
I really don't like being held captive to proprietary plugs so I usually just standardize on something like an automotive 12v SAE connector, if possible. These are cheap and plentiful and available off-the-shelf in any auto supply store. You can even get extension cords off-the-shelf and ready to use!

If I'm just experimenting with quick, temporary connections I use lever connectors - and I have an assortment of 2,3,4 and 5-wire connectors. Very flexible and easy to undo if you change your mind and want to try something else.

If I were looking for something more permanent and I didn't mind soldering, I've noticed that many people use XT-60 connectors which would also be suitable for this kind of work. These are compact, rugged, widely available and not too expensive.
 
It's strange, but that web address link you supplied is different than what I've been using. Everyone beware, the address https://maxoak.net/ is apparently a fake scam copy! The .net webste lists two different info@ conact email addresses. The .com goes nowhere and the .net is a scam that tries to get you to deposit money in a PayPal account.
I actually had a Buetti Adminctell me to sign up on their website and it was .com. have heard nothing yet. That would be sad if directed to use their site and result in scammers, will keep an eye open. Thx for heads up. I'm startingcto feel bad about my new bluetti purchase this week, with all my research I had only heard ostly good things about the build and customer service(other than supply chain ussues).
 
Those resin-potted heatsink style step-up convertors are available with several different specs, so you should be abke to find one that will suit your AC50S input requirements, if that's some thing you want to pursue.
Zilch,

I contacted Newark and ordered a couple pairs of : 1636.07 Lumberg 8mm 3 pole and a corresponding single 1642.21 8mm female panel mount. I might try and use the 8mm F to create an adapter to fit on a stock alternate Ac/dc 90w or so power supply to create an alternate power to the AC50S or (best goal yet!) use it with my Goal Zero 5-10a 12vdc charger 98079 which should be better than the worthless bluetti cig 8mm adapter (with no boost). I may be wrong about that but all indications seem to point to using a dc boost (if conservative) is way better.
Now if that fails ill give your DC boost a try ....

I've been fabbing my own DC5521 cables for output to 6mm for my GZ accessories (Lite-A-Life lamps) and to other APP accessorized connections. So far so good. Also been fabbing our new Dometic Cfx 12v for added APP connections for power....

I've asked Bluetti for how to purchase added MC4 to 8mm cables or 8mm to Cig cables so I can hack them up for my custom uses.... no response for a while. If that fails I'll continue on with my Newark 8mm 3 pole adapters and fab all my cables as needed.

regards, Seldomseen
 
Update.

I received my 1636.07 Lumberg 8mm 3 pole plug and a female plug. The odd thing about the male plug ? is that the inner shell does not seem to have a flange for the center pin to share the power. I may be out of luck using this if I can’t figure out how to get power soldered to bot my the center po and the inner shell. It looks like the inner shell is unpowered. I may have to figure out a kluge for it. Still testing the connections. Might have to solder a shiny from the center to the barrel as shown. With this custom adapter I may be able to use my 5 amp GZ adapter to car power the AC50s. My thought is that the OEM provided Bluetti cig to 8mm cable is not useful or sufficient to car charge the AC50s. That’s been my similar experience in other 12v battery charging.

if anyone has similar experiences or a fix please let me know.

regards, Seldomseen
 

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Update.

I received my 1636.07 Lumberg 8mm 3 pole plug and a female plug. The odd thing about the male plug ? is that the inner shell does not seem to have a flange for the center pin to share the power. I may be out of luck using this if I can’t figure out how to get power soldered to bot my the center po and the inner shell. It looks like the inner shell is unpowered. I may have to figure out a kluge for it. Still testing the connections. Might have to solder a shiny from the center to the barrel as shown. With this custom adapter I may be able to use my 5 amp GZ adapter to car power the AC50s. My thought is that the OEM provided Bluetti cig to 8mm cable is not useful or sufficient to car charge the AC50s. That’s been my similar experience in other 12v battery charging.

if anyone has similar experiences or a fix please let me know.

regards, Seldomseen
Update on the 8mm adapters.

spent time with Newark tech support on the connectors referenced above.
- the 8mm is not a true 3 pole. There is no way to get inner sleeve power unless you shunt wire to the small bit of exposed shell near the center pin. That’s not a deal breaker but not clean design
- the female 8mm is a bigger problem. Though there are three pins on the backside of the plug only two are connected to conductors. The outside pin on the edge is ground on the outside of the connector. The center pin gets power from the center connector. The other connector is nothing there is no wiring support.

My alternate plan is probably to select a 12 V charger and cut the plug and re-wire the end for the proprietary Bluetti 8 mm plug. I had hoped to create a male/female cable adapter that I could simply attach to a standard two pole 8 mm plug to convert to 8mm three pole but that won’t seem to work.

here is my question. Bluetti Ships a cigarette lighter to 8 mm adapter with the AC 50 S, I am the impression that it is useless without extra amperage or boost either from an inverter or from a DC charger that will put out more amperage. My goal zero yeti and Extreme 350 Charger can put out 5 or 10a almost like a boost. If it works it might solve my 12 V charging In auto charging capability (at 5A. 10a is probably overtaxing my truck capacity). Does that seem sound ?

regards,
Seldomseen
 
On the Bluetti forum a guy using a AC30 that good success with a Lenovo 90W 20V PA-1900-53i charger. It has a 8mm plug and puts out 4.5A 20V. He said it works for the AC30. Anyone try this on a AC50S ? I maybe wrong but the input power port on the AC50S is 3 pole. It needs a hot center pin and the Lenovo does not provide center pin power.....

In his testing with the Lenovo, it seemed to show promise, esp. for the AC30. I recently obtained this Lenovo power supply and in testing with my meter I noticed that the center pin is not powered ? The inner shell is powered and the outer shell is powered. The AC50S MC4 to 8mm and the Cig lighter to 8mm all supply power to the input power jack. Does your Lenovo not supply power on the center pin or does your AC30 not require center pin power ?

When testing a iGreely 8mm jack cable it would not power the AC50S (unless i was testing incorrectly). I’d like to know what you think. I’m still under the impression that the Bluettis’ need 3 pole 8mm plugs to work correctly. thanks
 
Just a quick clarification and question posed into one... I am looking at getting the EB150 due to all the positive reviews. Right now we have Goal Zero solar panels and would really like to just use them instead of switching over to something else. Is there any possible way to use them without taking matters (aka scissors) into my own hands? A quick adapter to purchase or anything?
 
On the Bluetti forum a guy using a AC30 that good success with a Lenovo 90W 20V PA-1900-53i charger. It has a 8mm plug and puts out 4.5A 20V. He said it works for the AC30. Anyone try this on a AC50S ? I maybe wrong but the input power port on the AC50S is 3 pole. It needs a hot center pin and the Lenovo does not provide center pin power.....

In his testing with the Lenovo, it seemed to show promise, esp. for the AC30. I recently obtained this Lenovo power supply and in testing with my meter I noticed that the center pin is not powered ? The inner shell is powered and the outer shell is powered. The AC50S MC4 to 8mm and the Cig lighter to 8mm all supply power to the input power jack. Does your Lenovo not supply power on the center pin or does your AC30 not require center pin power ?

When testing a iGreely 8mm jack cable it would not power the AC50S (unless i was testing incorrectly). I’d like to know what you think. I’m still under the impression that the Bluettis’ need 3 pole 8mm plugs to work correctly. thanks
Hi Seldomseen2u,

Ironically, I've been seldom seen at this thread, so I apologize for neglecting your questions and it's a shame those Newark connectors aren't true 3-pole solderable. Their drawings led me to believe otherwise.

You certainly seem to be working things out pretty well on your own, however. ??

What's happening, currently?
 
Quick question for a newcomer. Should it be possible to wire 10G wire directly from positive/negative terminal of battery to power pole connector in bed of truck. Then go from powerpole to Bluetti with MC4 connectors as input for charging from car battery to Bluetti AC50s?
 
Quick question for a newcomer. Should it be possible to wire 10G wire directly from positive/negative terminal of battery to power pole connector in bed of truck. Then go from powerpole to Bluetti with MC4 connectors as input for charging from car battery to Bluetti AC50s?

Question: What is the minimum input voltage required by the MPPT charger of the Bluetti AC50s?

Answer: 14V (up to 40V)

Problem: Even with the engine running, the alternator will not keep the voltage at or above 14V while under load.

Use the 12V car charger, instead. ?

Or... Connect this 300W full sine-wave DC-to-AC inverter into those 10AWG, 12V power port connectors you are considering, then use it for powering 120V AC tools as well as for the Bluetti's 90W AC charger:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07KQ4Q2L5/ :)

The 300W inverter can be plugged into any cigarette lighter-style 12V power jack rated and fused for at least 10 Amps.

Be careful not to drain your battery too much when the motor isn't running.
 
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Hey y'all, I have what is probably a dummy question on the Bluetti. I just bought an AC200P, and am planning to rig it up in an old VW Vanagon for aux power (mainly to power a portable fridge/freezer). I want to get at least the trickle of a 12v charge from the van's cigarette lighter while I'm driving (portable solar panels while at camp). The 12v adapter works fine when plugged directly into the socket, but when I plug it into an extension, no dice! Double checked the extension with another device, no problems there. If I squeeze the connectors together super hard and twist it just right, it works, but won't keep working when I let it go. Clearly a poor connection - should I just try a different 12v extension cable? I ordered one on Amazon that I can return, so maybe that will do the trick?

Ideas welcome, thanks!

Oh and I love the idea of someday converting to charge faster from the van with some sort of up DC charger (if that's what it's called - I'm clearly a newbie at this!), so thanks for the above ideas!
 
Hey y'all, I have what is probably a dummy question on the Bluetti. I just bought an AC200P, and am planning to rig it up in an old VW Vanagon for aux power (mainly to power a portable fridge/freezer). I want to get at least the trickle of a 12v charge from the van's cigarette lighter while I'm driving (portable solar panels while at camp). The 12v adapter works fine when plugged directly into the socket, but when I plug it into an extension, no dice! Double checked the extension with another device, no problems there. If I squeeze the connectors together super hard and twist it just right, it works, but won't keep working when I let it go. Clearly a poor connection - should I just try a different 12v extension cable? I ordered one on Amazon that I can return, so maybe that will do the trick?

Ideas welcome, thanks!

Oh and I love the idea of someday converting to charge faster from the van with some sort of up DC charger (if that's what it's called - I'm clearly a newbie at this!), so thanks for the above ideas!
Hi,

I think you're onto the cause of your problem. Test the extension cable with a different cigarette lighter socket (in another vehicle). If it works OK there, you might need a new socket in the Vanagon. Otherwise, replace that extension cable with a different design, but keep in mind that the heavier the guage, the less loss you will suffer for a given length.

Mike
 
Update - I tested a different extension cable, and still no luck. No problems with the cigarette lighter itself - it works just fine when I plug directly into it without the extension. Furthermore, the extension cables (all three I have tried) work fine for a different appliance.

My hunch at this point is that the male end of the 12v adapter supplied with the Bluetti is crappy, and for that reason doesn't connect well with the extension cables. Unfortunately I'm at a loss for what to do about this. I've reached out to Bluetti and not had any luck yet, but it hasn't been long yet. I tried to find an XT90 extension cable (the Bluetti 12v adapter feeds through a short cord to an XT90 male, which connects to another cord and converts to an aviation plug to charge the Bluetti), but I only found one of these online - it was only 4 feet long and like $30! I need 10-12' I think, so that's not going to do me any good.

Any more ideas are welcome!

Harwood
 
I'm stumped, but I can tell you that, in my experience, Bluetti support is slow but sure. Patience wins the day. (They need more people, but who doesn't?) Anyway, it might take two weeks for the first reply to an email and then you can go back and forth with them fairly quickly, if you have follow-up questions. YMMV. :)
 
Thanks zilch, really appreciate it. Not sure what's causing the issue, but I have another potential solution that I'd love someone to sound off on. Above in this thread the DC to AC inverter that runs off a cigarette lighter. This would have real advantages for the Bluetti - using a 12v cable to charge (if I could even get it to work on the extension) I would have to plug into the same port as the solar panels, thus I would have to switch out the cables every time I go to drive. Not a major problem, but with the location of the Bluetti in the van it's definitely a hassle factor. Going AC on the other hand completely eliminates this problem.

So here's the question - The Vanagon's cigarette lighter should be on a 15 amp circuit (also runs the radio and the clock). Do you think this DC to AC inverter will blow the Vanagon's fuse? You mention above that the cigarette lighter should be rated for at least 10 amps, so I should be beyond that. Just wondering if there's anything else I'm not thinking of? Also, any idea how much power it might actually supply? When plugged into shore power my Bluetti is drawing quite a bit through the AC charge port - currently shows 55 volts, 8.4 amps, and 466 watts. Curious how much it might get through this DC to AC inverter unit...

Thoughts appreciated, thank you so much!

Harwood
 
Thanks zilch, really appreciate it. Not sure what's causing the issue, but I have another potential solution that I'd love someone to sound off on. Above in this thread the DC to AC inverter that runs off a cigarette lighter. This would have real advantages for the Bluetti - using a 12v cable to charge (if I could even get it to work on the extension) I would have to plug into the same port as the solar panels, thus I would have to switch out the cables every time I go to drive. Not a major problem, but with the location of the Bluetti in the van it's definitely a hassle factor. Going AC on the other hand completely eliminates this problem.

So here's the question - The Vanagon's cigarette lighter should be on a 15 amp circuit (also runs the radio and the clock). Do you think this DC to AC inverter will blow the Vanagon's fuse? You mention above that the cigarette lighter should be rated for at least 10 amps, so I should be beyond that. Just wondering if there's anything else I'm not thinking of? Also, any idea how much power it might actually supply? When plugged into shore power my Bluetti is drawing quite a bit through the AC charge port - currently shows 55 volts, 8.4 amps, and 466 watts. Curious how much it might get through this DC to AC inverter unit...

Thoughts appreciated, thank you so much!

Harwood
Hi Harwood,

OK, I need more than the DC info you provided from the Bluetti display when using its AC charger.

There are some inefficiences between Watts consumed by the AC charger vs. Watts actually naking it into the Bluetti. In other words, if the Bluetti is receiving 466 Watts, you can be sure the AC charger is pulling at least 500 Watts, if not more.

Please examine the label on the AC charger itself and reply with the AC INPUT voltage and Amps or Watts consumed.

In advance, I'm guessing the AC charger pulls something like 550W, which means you will need something like a 700W 13.8V Inverter, in part to avoid running a lower-rated inverter too hard.


This comes with 6 AWG cables for direct connection to your vehicle's battery, but they are only 3 ft. long - which might not be long enough to mount the inverter on the cool side of your engine bay's firewall. If you need longer cables to get the inverter inside the van, you will have to go to 4 AWG. Running the inverter out in the heat and dust is unthinkable.

It gets worse: That 700W inverter is only 90% efficient, which is pretty good, but its 700W output at 120VAC will pull 778W at 12VDC from your vehicle = 65 Amps! Yeah... Your vehicle's alternator won't be happy with having to alternate an additional 65 Amps. So... You really should look into upgrading the alternator if you are hell bent on charging the Bluetti at 550W within your vehicle.

Even then, a BIG mistake many people make is to run the alternator with the vehicle idling. Ouch! First, sustained idling imposes a lot of wear on the head of a motor, due to insufficient lubrication. But often overlooked is the fact that alternators are self-cooling - with built-in fan blades that are VERY dependent on engine RPM. There's no better way to smoke an alternator, than to make it work hard at idling RPMs.

Moral of the story... I'd still like to know what the Bluetti's AC charger INPUT specifications are, but my advice would be to abandon this idea of enjoying a charge rate of 550W and go back to pursuing your original idea of "trickle charging" from the cigarette lighter socket. Even that should NOT be done while idling your motor and certainly not while the vehicle isn't running. There's also the possibility of also mounting solar panels on the roof of your Vanagon.

?

Mike
 
Mike - wow, this is all SUPER helpful, I really appreciate all the education!

Ok, so the Bluetti's AC charger is labeled like this:

Input: 100-240VAC, 50/60Hz, 7.5A Max

Output: 58.8V, 8.0A

Does that give you the info you need?

I definitely don't want to stress the alternator - this is a 1991 VW after all! And I really have no need for it to charge rapidly while driving, the trickle is great. Ideally I would get some sort of a trickle through the AC charger - again that way I wouldn't have to disconnect the solar cables and reconnect the DC charging cable before every drive, and vice versa when I get to camp. But if that's the only option, you do what you gotta do. To your point, I certainly could mount a couple of solar panels on the roof to get charging while driving (and parking, etc), and then patch in an extra portable panel that I can move around to chase the sun while at camp. Actually I bought flexible panels for that very reason, and may wind up going that direction at some point. I'm just also aware that the sun isn't always shining (or it's shining behind a thick layer of smoke....), and being able to get a trickle from the alternator seems prudent, if possible.

Thanks again!

Harwood
 
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